Open Sources Guelph - January 16, 2020

01/20/20 • 55 min

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we don't need to make a play for our independence since we've already got it! So what are we going to do with our independence? We're going to talk to a city councillor!! Ward 6's Dominique O'Rourke will be our guest this week, and then we will talk about the latest from Iran, and another pair trying to strike out on their own...

This Thursday, January 16, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

Plan Dominique. Guelph City Council has already met for the first time in 2020, but there's a whole lot going on in the Royal City as we look ahead to what might happen in next 12 months. This week, we're going to be joined by Ward 6 Councillor Dominique O'Rourke, who will talk to us about the importance of the strategic plan that's now being done, the concerns about the pending traffic crunch on Gordon with all the development in the south end, and we will make some time in the end to talk about sports (?).

Wince of Persia. Although it's been forced off the front page in the United States thanks to impeachment drama, the downing of Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 is still top of mind for Canadians as the recovery process continues, now with Canadians in Iran and at the crash site. Although Iran has taken responsibility for accidentally shooting down the plane, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau went on TV and said that the escalating tensions are the reason why so many people died. So where do the tensions go from here?

Megxit Wounds. Also forcing international tensions off the front page is the internal tensions of the Royal Family. Harry and Meghan, AKA: the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are looking to bail on their Royal duties and set up ways to make themselves financially independent. There's no doubt that the Duchess has suffered from an inordinate amount of negative coverage on the basis of her race, but is this move, and the seeming disrespect shown to the Queen, going to be the clean break she and Harry are looking for?

Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

This Thursday, January 16, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

Previous Episode

End Credits - January 15, 2020 (Just Mercy)

This week on End Credits, we shift from a star war in a galaxy far, far away to something a little more close to home. Grab a kleenex, or 10, and get ready to for a review of the based on a true story Just Mercy. We're also going to have issues of our own with awards, A.I., Star Wars outrage, and why we might finally be reaching "peak franchises" (or not).

This Wednesday, January 15, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:

All Award! The annual awards season is underway, and already we have concerns. (Not about the Oscar noms, we'll talk about that next week.) For instance, how did the Golden Globes nearly ignore Netflix even though so many of the year's best movies came from them? Also, how were the BAFTAs able to ignore such a diverse slate of great performances to nominate all white actors?

Robert Quicken. Warner Bros. announced last week that they're going to start using artificial intelligence in deciding what movies they should green light. It's a big move, but while the running of a studio isn't being taken entirely out of human hands (yet), will an A.I. be any better at predicting what movies will be hits by using data better?

Cutting Bored. You've heard of the Snyder Cut, but now everyone's talking about the J.J. Cut, some imagined edit of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that better reflects J.J. Abrams "vision" of the film. Of course, the director himself has said nothing about an alternate cut of the film, and those "missing scenes" seem part of the regular process of film editing. So who's gonna tell the internet?

Grudge Snatch. The release of The Grudge remake last weekend has some movie pundits asking why the studio even bothered. Not only did the film bomb at the box office, but it received an F on Cinemascore, which means even the people that paid to see it, hated it. So has Hollywood entered terminal "sequel rot," and can studios cure themselves of the affliction?

REVIEW: Just Mercy (2019). In 1988, Walter "Johnny D" McMillan was sentenced to death row in Alabama for a crime he didn't commit because of some of the crappiest police work you've ever seen. And racism. McMillan's story is now brought to life by acclaimed director Destin Daniel Cretton with Michael B. Jordan as crusading attorney Bryan Stevenson, and Jaime Foxx as McMillan. But is there room at the cinema for a good old fashioned legal drama based on a true story.

End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

Next Episode

GUELPH POLITICAST #206 - Penner's Place on Politico

For 12 years and 900 episodes, Fred Penner entertained kids every weekday morning on CBC by inviting them to his Place, which was through the woods, along the river shore and accessed via a downed log hidden by some shrubs. It offered generations of kids access to a world of song, story and make-believe, and it's a world that Penner's still taking kids to one tour stop at a time.

Fred Penner, who is the guest on this week's podcast, had an expansive career in children’s entertainment long before Fred Penner’s Place, and long after CBC even stopped airing reruns in 2000. And yes, Penner is still touring, and this year is marking the 40th anniversary of what is arguably his biggest hit, “The Cat Came Back,” which isn’t even Penner’s song, but was based on a folk tune written by Harry S. Miller in 1893.

Of course that may speak to the timelessness of Penner. Hailing from Winnipeg, Penner wasn't always going to be in music, but he found himself drawn more and more to his side-hustle using music to entertain and comfort children with mental and physical issues. Penner co-founded a children’s dance and theatre company, and through the charity of a patron, he was able to record an album featuring some of his favourite songs.

The rest, as they say, is history, but history isn't over yet for Fred Penner, and he will be bringing his “Cat Came Back” anniversary tour to the Royal City for Hillside Inside in a couple of weeks. First though, he took some time out of his still busy schedule to talk to the Guelph Politicast about a wide range of topics.

In this edition of the podcast, Fred Penner will talk about his long career as a musician and a children’s entertainer, and how we clued in early on to the power of music for its ability to unite and heal. We also talk about the longevity of “The Cat Came Back”, and the difference between the way children’s entertainment is produced now versus when Penner’s Place was on the air. We’ll also discuss how he’s become a multi-generational performer, and how he’s able to play everything from kids shows to college bars and get the exact same rousing response. (See Penner's appearance on the old Strombo show to see the how well he plays to the hipster crowd.)

So let's get inside the mind of Fred Penner for this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast! Fred Penner will be in Guelph for Hillside Inside, and you will have two chances to see him live. We will appearing at the taping of q on Friday February 7 at the River Run Centre, and he will be performing “The Cat Came Back” and other hits at 2 pm on Saturday February 8 at the Royal City Mission. You can visit the festival website here for tickets.

The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.

Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.